


Missing Out and Missing You

by charliewrites



Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: Canon Compliant, Family Fluff, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 21:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6536317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charliewrites/pseuds/charliewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Balthazar is on tour and misses his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing Out and Missing You

**Author's Note:**

> I got really emotional writing this.

Balthazar (Rome, Italy, 7:45am):  
 _Good morning :) I have a few hours before sound check. Skype?_

Peter (Wellington, New Zealand, 5:46pm):  
 _Sure, you can join us for dinner <3 _

While the slow hotel wifi loaded, Balthazar called room service and ordered breakfast. He didn’t usually do that, but whenever he got the chance to share a meal with his family, he took it. 

The moment he was logged on, he clicked call on Peter’s icon, waiting impatiently while it rang. He didn’t have to wait long, though, and soon he saw his husband’s face on the screen. 

‘Hey babe’ Peter said, a big smile on his face. 

‘Hey Pete- are you in the kitchen?’ Balthazar asked, studying the background behind Peter. 

‘Oh, yeah. I’m making dinner’ Peter said, seemingly being reminded that he needed to watch whatever was on the pan. 

‘Is it bad that I actually miss cooking?’ Balthazar laughed, running his hand through his hair. 

‘Nah, because when you come home I _will_ insist on you making dinner every night for at least a week’ Peter said. 

‘Dad, who are you talking to?’ a familiar, little voice from behind Peter asked. Because Peter’s laptop was most likely on some cook books on the counter beside the stove, Balthazar couldn’t see the girl to whom the voice belonged, but he desperately wanted to. 

‘Come and see for yourself’ Peter said, leaving the shot for a moment. ‘Urgh, you’re getting too big for this, Bells’

When he came back into view of the webcam, he had Isabella on his back, her arms around his neck. 

Her face lit up when she saw the screen. ‘DADDY!’

‘Inside voice, please’ Peter said, but he was laughing. 

‘Hey sugarplum’ Balthazar said, his face not able to smile wide enough to convey the joy this image evoked. ‘How’s it going?’

‘I made a new friend today, Daddy!’ Isabella said enthusiastically.

‘Yeah? Who might that be?’ Balthazar asked, his heart bursting with love. 

‘Her name’s Annalise and she’s really pretty and nice and she shared her juice box with me’ the little girl rambled on excitedly, almost forgetting to take breaths as she did. 

‘Oh, I can’t wait to meet her’ Balthazar said as there was a knock on his door. ‘Back in a sec’

‘Bells, why don’t you go wash your hands while I set the table? I promise Daddy will still be here when you get back’ he heard Peter say as he opened the door for room service. 

When he had his tray of food, he settled back on the bed, adjusted the angle of his laptop, and took a sip of his coffee. 

Peter’s laptop was now pointing to the dining table set for two; the sight of his usual spot being empty filled him with a kind of sadness. How he wished he was there with them, in person. 

‘I hope you’re enjoying that big breakfast as long as you can; when you come home we have cereal and toast’ Peter laughed when he came into view of the webcam, seeing the screen. ‘Is that watermelon and strawberries?’

‘Yeah, it’s too hot for warm food. I’m actually considering not drinking the rest of my coffee and just get an ice coffee later’ Balthazar said, fanning himself with his hand, partly for effect, partly to actually cool down a little. Why did they have to be in Rome in August?

‘Oh man, I can’t wait for a bit of proper heat and sun!’ Peter said, sipping his water. 

‘You disgust me’ Balthazar said, narrowing his eyes at Peter. They never really had agreed on how much sun was _too much_ sun. 

‘Is Daddy still here?’ Isabella came running into shot, climbing her chair at the end of the table. 

‘Yes, sugarplum, I’m still here’ Balthazar said, wanting so bad to reach out and hug her. 

They ate together – breakfast for Balthazar, dinner for Isabella and Peter – while Isabella entertained them with stories from what she’d done at kindergarten that day. If Balthazar concentrated extra hard, he could almost imagine that he was there, sitting in his usual spot across from Peter in their kitchen. 

Sometimes he thought his life would truly be perfect if he could come home to them every night, the way Peter could. But Balthazar’s job required a little more travel for some stretches of time. Though that also meant that when he came home, he could be there 24/7, which he loved. 

After dinner, Isabella ran off to find some drawings she’d done for Balthazar to see, while Peter filled the dishwasher. 

‘I swear, she’s going to have a closet full by the time you come home’ Peter said with that fond smile that still made Balthazar melt a little inside. 

‘I can’t wait’ Balthazar said, returning the smile. ‘So how’s the play going? Any weird rehearsal stories to tell?’

‘Well’ Peter said, sitting back down at the dining table. ‘None that are Costa-worthy, but my director _does_ want there to be a live dog running around to make it look authentic’

‘Oh, wow. That has disaster written all over it’ Balthazar laughed.

‘Tell me about it. We’re hoping the theatre will, like, forbid live animals on stage or something’ Peter said. ‘But other than that it’s going well’

‘That’s good; I’m really excited to see it-’

‘Daddy, Daddy, look!’ Isabella came running back into view of the webcam with her arms full of drawings. She handed them to Peter, who put them on the table, while she climbed her chair. 

‘Wow, that _is_ a lot of drawings’ Balthazar said, catching Peter’s raised eyebrows. 

-

Balthazar (Oslo, Norway, 1:30am):   
_Can’t sleep. You free to Skype?_

Peter (Wellington, New Zealand, 11:31am):   
_Of course._

‘Are you okay?’

Balthazar was met with Peter’s worried frown. He’d known Peter would pick up on the strange time. 

‘I had a bad show, is all. Needed to hear your voice’ Balthazar said with a weak smile. He was exhausted and disappointed with himself. 

‘You want to talk about it?’ Peter asked, his frown turned into a sympathetic smile. 

‘It was just… we had a lot of technical stuff – and I messed up the entire bridge to Stay; it’s not as easy to do without you’ Balthazar said, a small smile creeping onto his lips at the memory of Peter singing with him. ‘And I just didn’t feel connected to the audience at all, and now I feel bad for them having paid to see me perform only for me to mess it up because I suck-’

‘Hey now’ Peter interjected softly. ‘You do not suck. Everyone messes up – I seem to remember you telling me that a lot when we first started dating. You’re allowed to have a bad day once in a while’

‘Yeah, I know’ Balthazar said, fiddling with a thread in his sleeve. ‘But, like… my tickets are getting pricey, and Tina told me that some people had come all the way from, like, northern Norway and Iceland to see me, so it just… Yeah…’

‘Yeah, I know. But no matter what, you’re brilliant’ Peter said, love pouring out of his words. 

‘Thanks, Pete’ Balthazar smiled, his mood lifted a little. Then he frowned as something dawned on him. ‘Where’s Bella?’

‘She’s at a play date with Annalise’ Peter said. ‘Her parents are actually pretty cool. They moved into the house down the road that went for sale just before you left’

‘Ah, she’s really taken a shining to that Annalise, huh?’ Balthazar laughed. Since telling him about her when he’d been in Rome, Isabella had talked about her every time they’d Skyped. 

‘Yeah, they’re pretty much inseparable’ Peter said with a shake of his head. 

‘I feel like I’m missing out on so much’ Balthazar said, that bittersweet longing for home washing over him again. 

‘Yes, well. Only six weeks to go, and then you’ll be back, right?’ Peter said, his eyes twinkling with excitement. 

Balthazar’s stomach dropped. 

‘Yeah, about that…’ he said, frowning down at the bed sheets, pulling his sleeves over his hands.

‘What?’ Peter’s face fell.

‘That producer that I’ve been wanting to work with for a while will be in London for a few weeks after I finish my last show there, so my team kind of went ahead and booked some studio time with her’ Balthazar peaked up to see his husband’s reaction to the news. He seemed to have completely shut down. 

‘So how long are you extending for? Will you be back in time for Bella’s birthday?’

‘I don’t know, it depends on how much we get done’ Balthazar replied, feeling helpless.

‘Great. That’s- That’s just great’ Peter said, anger bleeding through his voice. 

‘Look, I’m sorry, but this is a massive opportunity and I can’t just waste it’ Balthazar said, getting a little annoyed that Peter couldn’t see that. 

‘And of course your job is way more important than coming home to your family’ Peter’s bitter tone cut through him. 

‘It’s not like I was jumping up and down in excitement at the thought of having to extend! It’s not like I _want_ to be away from you and Bella!’ Balthazar said, anger and desperation filling his chest. 

‘Feels like it’ Peter mumbled, looking down.

‘What?’

They were both silent for a moment, looking at each other through the screens. What Peter had said had felt like a punch in the gut.

‘Pete, I hate being away from you – both of you. There’s not a moment where I don’t think about you’ Balthazar said, blinking away tears. He hated fighting with Peter. ‘But this producer – she’s crazy busy all the time, and I’m lucky we’re even in the same place at the same time’

‘So we’ll just be second priority to you? Your job comes first?’

‘What? No! Pete-‘ Balthazar was struggling to keep his breathing steady. ‘What do you want me to do? You want me to ask them to cancel?’

‘No, don’t do that’ Peter sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. ‘Of course you should write with her. I’m sorry for not being more supportive, it’s just… hard, you know? You being gone for so long’

‘Yeah, I know’ Balthazar said, because boy did he know. ‘It’s hard for me too’

There was a moment of silence between them where Balthazar kept picking at a loose thread in his sleeve.

‘I miss you’ Peter said, prompting Balthazar to look up. 

A lump formed in Balthazar’s throat. ‘I miss you too, more than you know’

Peter took a deep breath. ‘You should get some sleep; you look awful’

Balthazar let out a half-sob-half-laugh. ‘Thanks’

‘I’m really proud of you for living your dream, you know.’ Peter said. ‘As much as I hate not having you here’

Balthazar smiled weakly. ‘What did I ever do to deserve you?’

‘I have no idea’ Peter joked. ‘But really, you should get some sleep. I’ll talk to you sometime next week, yeah?’

‘Yeah’ Balthazar said, taking a moment to look at Peter. ‘I love you’

‘I love you too, Balthy’

-

Balthazar sleepily exited the hotel bathroom to find that P. Donaldson was calling him on Skype. Puzzled, he answered the call to see Isabella’s face super close to the webcam. 

‘DADDY!’ she exclaimed.

‘Hey, sugarplum. You want to back away a little so I can see the rest of you?’ Balthazar asked, glad of the surprise call from his daughter. She did as he asked her, to reveal that she was in the office, sitting in Peter’s office chair. ‘Is Dad with you?’

‘No!’ she said, shaking her head vigorously with a big smile. 

‘So you’re on the computer by yourself?’ Balthazar asked, frowning a little. 

‘Auntie Meg is in the living room’ Isabella said. ‘She said I could play on Dad’s computer’

‘Auntie Meg, huh?’ Balthazar said with an amused smile. ‘Could you maybe get her for me?’

‘Okay!’ Isabella said, worming her way out of the chair before darting out of the room. No more than two minutes later, she returned, dragging Meg by the hand into the office. 

‘Wow, munchkin, you weren’t joking’ she said, sitting down in Peter’s chair, lifting Isabella up to sit on her lap. ‘Hi Balthazar, long time no see’

‘Hi Meg’ Balthazar said, smiling at his friend. 

‘Where are you right now? Somewhere sunny?’ Meg asked. 

‘Not exactly sunny, no’ Balthazar laughed. ‘I’m in Dublin’

‘Oh, well’ Meg said, shrugging. ‘So it must be really early there’

‘Yeah, it’s a quarter to six in the morning’ Balthazar said, nodding. ‘I have a full day of interviews today’

‘Wow, we do not envy you at all’ Meg said, looking at Isabella with wide eyes. ‘Do we, munchkin?’

Isabella giggled and shook her head. That giggle was enough to fill Balthazar’s heart to the brim with love. 

‘Hey Bells, can you maybe give us a minute? I need to talk to Auntie Meg about something’

‘Uh-oh’ Meg said, sharing a look with Isabella. ‘Auntie Meg’s in trouble. How about you go find that drawing you showed me earlier?’

‘But I want to talk to Daddy’ Isabella pouted. 

‘I _really_ want to see that drawing, though’ Balthazar said. ‘I’ll still be here when you come back, I promise’

Isabella seemed to consider his words before she nodded, bouncing down from Meg’s lap and running out of the door and down the hallway. 

When she was out of earshot, Balthazar turned his attention to Meg, laughing. ‘Pete’s going to have a field day when he finds out you let her go on the computer unsupervised’

‘Oh god, I didn’t even think about that’ Meg said, covering her face with her hands for a while. ‘This is why I don’t babysit’

‘Yeah, why _are_ you babysitting?’ Balthazar asked. 

‘Peter has a late rehearsal today’ Meg replied, rolling her eyes a bit. 

‘Okay, but we have Bea and Ben on speed dial for those situations, and if they can’t we usually resort to Paige and Chels’ Balthazar recalled. ‘No offence, but you’ve never been our first choice for these things’

‘None taken. Yeah, Bea and Ben have a house full of flu hit children, and I believe Paige and Chelsey are out of town. I think I was pretty much Peter’s last resort’ Meg said casually. ‘And I love your kid, Balthazar, but I wouldn’t mind it if she’s a bit older next time I’m left alone with her’

Balthazar laughed at that. Meg would be an asset when Isabella hit puberty, that was for sure, but he knew she wasn’t really interested in the same things as his 4 year old daughter. 

‘We miss you, Balthy. All of us’ Meg then said. 

‘I miss you too, Meg’ Balthazar said. ‘Actually, I’ve been wanting to say; I really liked that piece you wrote on sexual harassment in the work place’

‘Thank you! You read that?’ Meg asked, surprise written all over her face. 

‘I read _all_ of your articles, Meg. You know that’ Balthazar said as Isabella came running down the hallway and into the office, holding a drawing.

Meg lifted her onto her lap, and Isabella held up the drawing for Balthazar to see.

‘Can you see what it is?’ she asked, bouncing in her seat. 

‘Well, art is subjective, munchkin’ Meg said, trying to hide her laugh. ‘So why don’t you tell us what _you_ see?’

Balthazar laughed, thankful for Meg’s help, since he had no idea what the picture was supposed to depict. 

‘It’s me and Dad and Daddy. And we’re hugging, because Daddy has come home to us, just like he always does. Right, Daddy?’

Balthazar felt a lump in his throat. ‘That’s right, sugarplum. I always come back to you’

There was a knock at his door and his tour manager, Tina, poked her head in. ‘The car’s going to be here in about ten minutes’

‘Alright, thanks’ Balthazar said and turned back to the screen. ‘I have to go’

‘No, please stay, Daddy!’ Isabella said, puppy eyes out in full force. 

‘You know what we should do, munchkin? We should go into the living room, put on one of your Daddy’s albums and have a dance party!’ Meg said. 

‘Yay!’ Isabella said, her mood instantly shifted. 

‘I love you, Bells’ Balthazar said, blowing her a kiss. 

‘I love you too, Daddy!’ Isabella said, blowing him a kiss back before darting out of the room, no doubt into the living room.

‘It was nice to talk to you, Balthazar. I’ll see you around when you come home’ Meg said with a smile. 

‘You too, Meg. It was good to see you again’ Balthazar said before hanging up. 

-

‘Wow, you look knackered!’ Balthazar laughed when Peter appeared on the screen. It was his day off so he could basically Skype until Peter went to bed. 

‘Yeah, that’s because I am’ Peter said with a yawn. ‘We went through all the choreography today, and then Bells wanted to play football in the yard so I feel like I’ve been running around all day’

‘Okay, yeah, that does sound exhausting. Where is she now?’ Balthazar asked, plucking at the strings on his ukulele. 

‘Playing in her room. She said something about needing a serious conversation with her teddy bear when she left the dinner table’ Peter laughed. ‘Please promise you’ll never leave me, because I don’t think I’d be able to handle being a single parent for real’

‘I promise’ Balthazar said with a fond smile. 

‘How’s London treating you? Have you been to see a West End show yet?’ Peter asked.

‘I got here yesterday just before a sound check so I haven’t had the time and you know it’ Balthazar laughed. 

‘Right, well, maybe you should go when you’re in the studio’ Peter said, appearing to have accepted it, having had a few weeks since Balthazar broke the news when he’d been in Oslo. 

‘Yeah, maybe’ Balthazar said, picking nervously at his sleeves.

‘So have you written any new songs lately?’ Peter asked.

‘Yeah, I actually just finished one before going to bed last night. You wanna hear it?’

‘I’m offended that you feel the need to even ask’ Peter said with a big smile on his face, settling in his seat. 

Balthazar rolled his eyes at him but couldn’t help but smiling back as he started playing him the new song. 

It was a song he’d started writing one night when he’d been struck with a bad case of home sickness. It was one of those nights where he’d had that irrational fear that he’d return to Wellington to find an empty house. 

He’d never told anyone about that fear, not even Peter. But whenever he was on tour – especially when he’d had a fight with Peter – it crept up on him when he tried to go to sleep. 

He had another song about that, but the one he was playing Peter was about how much he missed home and the people he loved the most. 

‘That’s probably my new favourite of yours’ Peter said when the song was finished. ‘That had better be on your next album’

‘If not I can get you a copy of the demo’ Balthazar laughed. 

‘Yes please!’ Peter said, and for a moment they just sat there, smiling at each other through the screen. 

‘Dad, will you read me a bed time story?’ Isabella’s voice came from somewhere behind the laptop, and Peter looked up. 

‘Have you brushed your teeth yet?’ Peter asked her. He waited a moment for her answer. ‘Well, then how about we do that first, yeah?’

‘Okay’ Isabella said. 

‘I’ll be back in a bit’ Peter told Balthazar, who nodded. They had a standing agreement to not let Isabella know if Balthazar was on Skype around her bed time; she’d only get excited and not want to go to bed. 

Balthazar turned off the microphone on his laptop so that he could work on a song that was on his mind as he waited for Peter to come back. It didn’t take more than ten minutes. 

‘I’ll be in, in a minute, sweetheart, just let me find the story!’ Peter called as he came into view of the webcam. He turned to address Balthazar in a hushed voice. ‘I’m going to sneak you in with me’

Balthazar gave him thumbs up, though he wasn’t sure if Peter had changed the window and therefore couldn’t see him. 

They’d done this before, once or twice; Peter would make some excuse as to why he needed the laptop with him – sometimes he’d find a story online to read her, sometimes he claimed it was “work-related” – and put it at the foot of Isabella’s bed, giving Balthazar a not-perfect-but-still-kinda-perfect view of story time. 

It was one of Balthazar’s favourite things to watch; his husband and daughter in her bed, him reading her a story as she slowly fell asleep. He always kept reading for at least ten minutes after Balthazar was sure she was fast asleep. 

This time, Peter dozed off too, for about half an hour. It was the sweetest image, and Balthazar took a screenshot. 

‘I’m sorry about that’ Peter said when he was back out in the living room, the laptop on their coffee table. ‘It’s been a long day’

‘It’s alright. You can go to bed if you want’ Balthazar said, not keen on letting him go, but at the same time knowing that Peter really needed the sleep. 

‘No, I have a few things I need to do anyway’ Peter said with a yawn. 

‘Are you sure you can’t wait to do those tomorrow?’ Balthazar asked, a bit concerned that Peter was wearing himself thin. 

‘I could, but then Bells won’t have any clean clothes to wear tomorrow. Even the thing she wore today was a bit of a stretch’ Peter said, scrubbing his face to wake himself up a little more. ‘I can’t wait for you to come home and do half of these tasks’

‘Yeah’ Balthazar said, considering if he should share the news that he’d gotten the night before, with Peter. ‘And hey, I’ll be home soon’

‘Yeah, you will’ Peter said with fond smile. ‘Only three weeks to go’

Balthazar chewed on his lower lip for a second before deciding that Peter needed a pick-me-up. 

‘So it turns out that the producer, I was scheduled to work with while I’m here, is heavily pregnant – or she _was_ , until two days ago, when she gave birth’ he said as casually as he could.

Peter frowned at him in confusion. ‘Good for her…?’

‘Yeah, so she’s on maternity leave for the next few months and had to reschedule our studio time. Which means that I don’t actually have anything but a few interviews to do after my last show in London’ Balthazar continued, trying to keep it as conversational as possible, wanting Peter to figure out on his own. He was trying very hard to suppress a smile. 

‘Wait, so- so what does this mean? Are you coming home early?’ As it dawned on Peter, a huge grin spread on his face. 

Balthazar nodded, finding it harder not to smile. 

‘H-how early are we talking?’ Peter asked, joy and disbelief plastered all over his face. 

‘Well, my plane leaves on Monday, s-‘

‘ _Monday_?! You’re coming home in less than a week?! Are you messing with me?!’ Peter asked, disbelieving laughter spilling out of him. 

‘Not this time’ Balthazar said, surrendering the battle not to smile. 

‘Stanley Balthazar Jones, I could _kiss_ you right now!’

‘You’ll have to wait a little longer for that’ Balthazar laughed, giddy at the thought of getting to kiss his husband again very soon. 

‘Yeah, but not as long as I thought! This is the best news ever!’ Peter said. ‘I cannot _wait_ to tell Bells, she’s going to be so excited!’

‘I kind of want to see that, to be honest’ Balthazar said, imagining the scene. 

‘I could wait to tell her until after dinner tomorrow?’ Peter offered, goofy smile still on his face. 

‘Nah, I have an early interview with BBC Radio 1 tomorrow so I won’t be able to get on Skype anyway. Could you maybe record it and send me the video?’ Balthazar asked, half joking. 

‘Sure, I can do that – as long as it doesn’t end up on YouTube’ Peter laughed, also only half joking. Both of them had developed a bit of a strained relationship with that website since their first year of university.

-

Two days later, Balthazar received a video file from Peter. He was at the venue, having a little down time between sound check and getting ready for the show. 

He clicked play on the video. 

Peter and Isabella were seated in their usual spots at the dinner table, and Isabella was drawing, while Peter was nursing a cup of tea. 

‘So Bells, I have a bit of news for you’ Peter said, prompting the girl to look up from her drawing. ‘It’s about Daddy’

‘Mmh?’ Isabella said, the look on her face breaking Balthazar’s heart. It was like she was expecting bad news, like this was how Peter always told her if Balthazar had been forced to extend his tour. Peter beckoned her to come to him and lifted her onto his lap when she did so. 

‘Remember how I said that it was too early to count how many sleeps were left until he comes home?’ Peter asked, pushing a few stray hairs out of her face. 

‘Yeah?’ she asked, her voice so small and fragile. 

‘Well, it turns out that’s not entirely true. Here, hold up your hands’ Peter said, and Isabella held up her hands, fingers splayed out. Peter gently bent down four of her fingers on one hand. ‘How many fingers are you holding up now?’

‘One, two, three, four, five, six. Six!’ Isabella counted proudly. Then her face lit up. ‘Six sleeps?!’

‘That’s right. Daddy’s coming home after six sleeps’ Peter said with a grin. 

Isabella was bouncing in her seat, and Balthazar felt like his face was splitting open from smiling so wide. 

The girl leapt from Peter’s lap and ran out of the room, screaming at the top of her lunges: ‘DADDY’S COMING HOME, DADDY’S COMING HOME!’

Peter looked directly at the camera with a smile that radiated happiness and love before the video ended, and Balthazar leaned his head back, bursting with happiness. 

He watched the video another three times, thinking that he could never get tired of it. 

-

After three planes, 30 hours of travel time and two 3 hour layovers, Balthazar was exhausted. He’d tried getting some sleep while he was in the sky, and he had succeeded a bit, but it didn’t help the jet lag. 

Still, when he was walking towards the arrival gate in Wellington International Airport, he couldn’t help but feel his chest flutter. It was a matter of minutes before he saw the two people he loved most in the world. 

‘DADDY!’ 

He’d hardly gotten through the doors before his daughter’s voice cut through the noise of people being reunited with their families. He put down his guitar case and crouched down, opening his arms so she could run straight into them. 

Her small arms clung around his neck, her legs wrapping around his torso as he stood up, arms wrapped around her. His heart was overflowing with love. 

‘I missed you, Daddy’ Isabella said, her voice quivering. 

‘I missed you too, sugarplum’ Balthazar said, tightening his grip around her, feeling a lump forming in his throat. 

‘Can I get in on this?’ Peter asked, having reached them. 

Balthazar reached an arm out to him, and Peter stepped into his embrace, placing his warm, strong arm around the two of them. 

They stood there for a while, just hugging, like Isabella had described from her drawing some weeks earlier. Balthazar was welling up, overwhelmed by how much he’d missed them. 

‘Let me take this’ Peter said, letting go and stepping out of the hug far too soon, picking up the guitar case by Balthazar’s feet. ‘Let’s go home’

He took Balthazar’s hand, intertwining their fingers, and together they walked out of the airport to the car. 

Isabella fell asleep as soon as they pulled out of the parking lot. Balthazar couldn’t help but look at her, drinking in the fact that she was there, in person. 

‘She hardly slept last night’ Peter said with a fond smile. ‘She was so excited for you to come home’

Balthazar tore his eyes away from their daughter to look at his husband. ‘I’ve been excited to come home too’

-

After carrying Isabella inside the house and helping her through her bed time routine, Balthazar helped her to bed. She clung to him through it all. 

‘Daddy?’ she asked sleepily when he had gotten her to let go of him and settle in under the covers. He was sitting with her like Peter did when he read her bed time stories. 

‘Yeah?’ he asked, stroking her hair. 

‘Promise you’ll be here tomorrow?’

It was heartbreaking. ‘I promise. I’ll be here tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and for many more days after that. I swear’

‘Good’ she said, sounding like she was on the verge of sleep. ‘I love you, Daddy’

Balthazar had to swallow down a lump forming in his throat. ‘I love you too, sugarplum’

He sat there for a while after she’d fallen asleep, listening to her steady breathing. No hotel room, no room service or adoring fans, nothing could top this moment, sitting in his daughter’s bedroom with her sleeping next to him. 

‘I was half convinced you’d fallen asleep with her’ Peter appeared in the doorway, voice hushed. He leaned on the doorframe with a fond smile. 

‘Nah, I just…’ Balthazar whispered, looking down at Isabella. 

‘Yeah, I know’ Peter said, snapping a photo. ‘This is so going on the wall in my dressing room at the theatre’

Balthazar rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hold back his smile. He kissed Isabella’s forehead before getting up and walking to Peter. They went into the kitchen where Peter put the kettle on. 

Balthazar moved over to Peter, wrapping his arms around his waist. ‘Hey’

‘Hey’ Peter said, turning so that they were facing each other. He leaned down for a soft kiss. 

‘Mmh, I missed those lips’ Balthazar mumbled, his eyes still closed. 

‘Yeah? Anything else you missed?’ Peter asked, and Balthazar didn’t have to open his eyes to know that he was smiling. Peter was running his hands up and down Balthazar’s arms. 

‘Maybe a couple of other things’ Balthazar said, leaning in for another kiss before he tucked his face into the crook between Peter’s neck and shoulder, hugging him tightly. Peter wrapped his arms around Balthazar’s shoulders. 

‘It’s good to have you back’ Peter whispered into Balthazar’s shoulder. 

‘It’s good to be back’ Balthazar said, his voice muffled by Peter’s skin.


End file.
